Netanyahu: I'll keep the Golan Israeli, Jerusalem undivided

Prime Ministerial candidate Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said only a government led by his Likud party could ensure that the Golan Heights will remain in Israeli hands and that Jerusalem will not be divided.

"Jerusalem will not be divided again and Gamla will not fall again. The Golan will stay in our hands only if the Likud is victorious. If Kadima wins, we will leave the Golan," Netanyahu said. Gamla was the historic capital of the Jewish Golan, sacked by the Romans in 68 CE.

The Likud leader's made the statements during a tree-planting ceremony in the Golan Heights, where he was joined by Likud heavyweights Moshe Ya'alon, Yossi Peled, Benny Begin and Effi Eitam.

He added that, "Anyone who wants defensible borders will vote Likud. A large Likud will defend the tree we have planted."

Netanyahu was accompanied by his son Avner. When planting the eucalyptus spruce, Netanyahu said, "My son will bring his children here in a few years and tell them that their grandfather planted the tree that will grow and extend its roots for many years to come, just as we have been living in the Golan for many years."

In a jab at Foreign Minister and Kadima leader Tzipi Livni, Begin mentioned his father, former prime minister Menachem Begin: "When we were toddlers, they taught us you do not involve your parents, but I decided to say this nevertheless: When we made peace with Egypt, Menachem Begin taught us that when you need to return territory for peace - under certain conditions - you do it. But this same Menachem Begin also continued to enforce Israeli law and sovereignty in the Golan Heights... both decisions had wide public acceptance," he said